Novel Review: Close Encounters of a Sexy Kind (Planet Nerak, #1) by Karen Kelley

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5-4

Genre: Adult Sci-fi Romance

Publisher: Brava Books (Kensington)

Release Date: 2007

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. Powells.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Beam Me Up, Hottie. . . Sex with the perfect man is overrated, especially if your Mr. Perfect is a robot, and you know there's something better out there. Can Mala help it if "out there" is way out there? Her grandmother, an intergalactic traveler, left a diary behind describing the exceptional lovemaking talents of Earth men. There's also a documentary that depicts a comely young woman and a rugged-looking person she calls "Sheriff." There are no Sheriffs on Mala's home planet. Solution? Head for Earth and get one of her own. . .

Sheriff Mason McKinley is having one hell of a week. First, the local conspiracy theorist called a bunch of reporters to town in search of Bigfoot, and now he insists he's seen a UFO land out near Devil's Bend. But when Mason rides out to investigate, instead of little green men, he finds the sexiest woman he's ever laid eyes on. Though Mala's odd behavior--an obsession with the naked channel, straightforward offers of sex--might have something to do with amnesia, what red-blooded American male wouldn't feel lucky? Still, Mason doesn't want to take advantage of a lost soul. . .however much she wants to be taken advantage of. . .

The Cover:

There's the above cover, which I actually rather like. It maybe gives more of a sex vibe than is actually in the book, but I think the dark colors work with the sci-fi part of the book. It's also a hot picture, and I just like it, no matter how embarrassing.
Then there's this picture, which I don't like at all. The pink is garish and way too much, and then the shirtless man just looks weird, with the bright color behind him, just posed half-naked. It gives a better feel for the adult romance part of the book, but it still doesn't work for me at all.

Review:

I picked this book up by pure coincidence. I’d never heard of it before, nor had I read anything else by the author. But it sounded really cute, possibly steamy, and very funny.

I’m a sucker for “character from another world” type stories, like Tarzan or aliens, and how they have to get used to the functions and utilities of where they are now. That’s a big part of why I was so interested in this book.

I liked Mala from the start. She just wanted to try something new, different, not something so ordained and perfected and of necessity. And after watching a porno her grandmother brought from earth, she couldn’t help wanting to go to earth to find her own Sheriff to have sex with, even once.

Mason, the Sheriff, has no idea where Mala came from, and is trying very hard not to do anything about his attraction. Their attraction was hot from the start, and I really liked the way Mala kept trying to come onto him, not realizing that earthlings don’t do that.

This was a really cute, and very funny, book. I enjoyed the way Mala tried getting used to earth. And her robot companion was sweet, and him getting his own romance was nice as well. Mason was frustrating at times, but overall I liked the way things worked out.

I hope to pick up the next book in this series, or just something else by Kelly. This was a surprisingly good book, and I want to read more.